http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquakeThis really strikes home for all of us preppers.
As this story unfolds, you'll see subtle clues about how prepared/unprepared the population was for something like this.
For these people, this is a combo SHTF and TEOTWAWKI event.
It's a good example that shows how disaster can snowball. In this case, it went EARTHQUAKE -> TSUNAMI -> POSSIBLE NUCLEAR PLANT RADIATION LEAK.
As a prepper, you have to think of the event, and then what effects will happen as a result of that event. People always say that nuclear plants are "super safe" and "over engineered" and problems will "never happen." Most likely, that is true. But, imagine a SHTF event, like pandemic flu that kills or incapacitates the engineers and technicians that maintain the nuclear facility, what then?
The government ordered thousands of residents near a nuclear power plant in Onahama city to evacuate because the plant's system was unable to cool the reactor. The reactor was not leaking radiation but its core remained hot even after a shutdown. The plant is 170 miles (270 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo.
Trouble was reported at two other nuclear plants as well, but there was no radiation leak at any.
Also, as a keen and observant prepper, when do you BUG OUT in this situation? I tend to believe that the initial reports from something like this will always be a LIE because the government doesn't want to induce a panic. Only when it's past the point of no return, and radiation is gushing like mad, will they tell the truth.